My Review of the Induro PHQ-3 Tripod Head

Hi and welcome to my blog.  Today, I have a gear review of the Induro PHQ-3 tripod head.  It is a rare event when a piece of gear excites me like, this one does.  I have owed just about every tripod head you can imagine. I love the precise adjustment of a pan head but the convince and speed of a ball head.  There is also a special place in my heart for the gear heads but that is a different story.  The PHQ-3 hands down offers more control over all of them combined.

I was very excited when the brown truck came to visit the other day.  It’s like Christmas every time I get a box from MAC Group, the sales and marketing company for Induro. When I opened he box, I saw two tripod heads with a note asking me to test them and tell them what I think.  In one box was the PHQ-3 pan head and in the other was the BHL-3 ball head. I opened the ball head first, because this has been my tool of choice for the last 7 or 8 years. I have to admit, I stopped using pan heads quite some time ago. In my mind Pan heads are big and bulky, kind of slow to work with and only offer 3 axis adjustment. Major boring stuff right?.

Yesterday, when I opened the PHQ-3 box and finally took a look, that is when everything I thought about pan heads changed. The PHQ-3 is not like any other tripod head, that I have ever seen.  It offers FIVE axis adjustment and can do some tricks that neither a standard pan head or ball head could ever dream of.  It’s like a ball head and a pan head all in one.

If you are like me, you might like to stitch panoramas or make HDR images. I like to do what I call BAP’s  (Big Ass Pano) images.  This involves stitching images on three different planes of focus. I do a top row, a middle row, and a bottom row.  Almost all tripod heads have a problem when you pan at an angle, the focus point of reference is in an arch, not a straight line when the lens is parallel to the horizon. This is due to the limited rotation capabilities of all ball heads, and all pan heads. This is also where the PHQ-3 shines.

A pan head is supposed to pan, right?  Do this, take your tripod outside, set it up to make a video.  I want you to put the head at a 45 degree angle, turn it to the left and line up the center of the frame on the edge of a curb (one that is straight). The press record then pan move the camera to record that curb from side to side.  The curb will change position in the frame, because the movement of the lens is in an arc.  This is not good if you are trying to stitch pano’s or make tight shot videos.

The video below will show you the reason why the PHQ-3 has just become my new favorite tripod head. The only problem I have with the PHQ-3 is the fact that I have to send it back!  Testing is great fun, but you need thick skin, if you don’t have a thick enough wallet to own it all.  Needless to say I am going to buy this head very soon.

I want to thank you for taking time to visit my blog today, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below. I hope you have a great day, Thomas Shue.